System for cooling a hot weather face mask



Jan. 23, 1962 l. WEINER SYSTEM FOR COOLING A HOT WEATHER FACE MASK Filed Feb. 5, 1959 INVENTOR Louis 1 We izzer? United States Patent s,017,sss SYSTEM FOR COOLING A HOT WEATHER FACE MASK Louis I. Weiner, West Newton, Mass., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Feb. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 791,503 Claims. (Cl. 128-400) (Granted under Title 35, [7.8. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

Conventional face masks heretofore devised have been generally ineffective because they imposed a barrier to the rapid transmission of heat from the wearers skin to the environment and failed to otherwise provide any cooling means for the wearers face.

An important object of the present invention resides in providing a self-contained means, not only for shielding the wearers face from excessive heat in hot weather areas, but also for compensating for the decrease in circulation of ambient air by providing a cooling medium for the mask.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to combine with a flexible face mask a source of cooling liquid and means to facilitate automatic spreading of the liquid over the mask.

A further object of the invention consists in providing a strong and durable yet attractively designed mask of the type'referred to.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which,

FIG. 1 is an elevational View, partly in section and partly broken away, showing the novel face mask in use;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the face mask with parts broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of one of the wicking cords having the yarns at one end thereof partly untwisted.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference numeral, the numeral 1 indicates the body portion of the face mask, which is preferably composed of an inner sheet 2 of flexible liquid-absorbent material of substantially rectangular form and an outer sheet 3 of flexible material attached thereto. These two sheets are preferably secured together by a line of stitching 4 about the marginal edges thereof, and they may be provided with gussets 5, if desired, to facilitate the shaping of the mask to the wearers face.

These sheets are provided with a transparent window 6 adapted to be aligned with the eyes of the wearer when the mask is in position for use, and it may be secured in such position by means of a loop 7, or the like, adapted to extend around the wearers head.

The means for transporting cooling liquid to the sheet 2 of absorbent material comprises, in the present illustration, a pair of cords 8, as shown in FIG. 2, although it will be readily understood that the cooling effect might be carried out with a single cord in many instances.

The wicking cord 8 is preferably formed of twisted yarns of synthetic hydrophobic nature such as polyamide, polyester, or polyacrylic types, which are non-absorbent and thus provide for very rapid movement of water along fiber surfaces. One suitable wicking cord for this purpose has been found to be a multi-core braided nylon material, in which a group of heavy yarns is surrounded by braid which maintains the unity of the structure.

3,017,838 Patented Jan. 23, 1962 Such a cord is illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein the several yarns are indicated by the numeral 9 and the covering braid by the numeral 10.

To additionally facilitate rapid dispersion of the liquid over the flexible liquid-absorbent sheet 2 of the mask, the yarns of the upper end of the cord are preferably spread out in fan-like form as shown in FIG. 2, and are anchored in position on the face of the sheet by lines of stitching 11. The yarns of the lower or outer end of the cord are also preferably spread out in fan-like form as indicated by the numeral 12 in FIG. 1, and it will be understood, of course, that these untwisted yarns are to be positioned in contact with some source of liquid so that the latter may travel along the yarns of the cord in a manner which may be readily understood.

In the present illustration, the source of liquid is constituted by a flexible bag 13 preferably formed of some plastic material and provided with a filling opening adapted to be closed by a closure 14. In this illustration of FIG. 1, the yarns are shown as in contact with a body of water 15 in the bottom of the bag or container, and the body of the cord is secured to the bag in any suitable manner as indicated by the numeral 16.

The operation of the device will be readily apparent, but it may be well to emphasize the fact that the body of the mask, as well as the wearers face, Will be quickly cooled due to the rapid travel of liquid along the cord or hydrophobic material and its fan-like end portions. It is also to be noted that while a plastic envelope type of container is employed in the present illustration as the source of cooling water, other suitable sources may be used if desired.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described what I now consider to be the preferred form of the invention, but it will be understood that numerous minor changes may be made in structural details and arrangements without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended that all such changes be included within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A self-contained automatically cooling face mask comprising a sheet of opaque flexible and liquid-absorbent material, a transparent window disposed in the flexible sheet, means for suspending the sheet across the face of the wearer with the Window aligned with the wearers eyes, wicking material extending across and secured to the sheet, and other wicking material attached to the firstnamed wicking material and having a free end adapted to be associated with a source of liquid.

2. A self-contained automatically cooling face mask comprising a sheet of flexible and liquid-absorbent material, means for suspending it across the face of the wearer, a yarn-formed cord of wicking material having the yarns at one end thereof untwisted and arranged in fan-like form over the face of said sheet, lines of stitching securing said yarns in position on the fabric, a second sheet of fabric covering the outer face of said first-named fabric and secured thereto, the opposite end of said wicking cord being untwisted, and a container for liquid, said lastnamed end of the wicking being disposed in the container and attached thereto.

3. A self-contained automatically cooling face mask comprising a first sheet of opaque flexible and liquid absorbent material, a second sheet of flexible material covering the first sheet and secured thereto, a transparent window disposed in said first and second flexible sheets, means for positioning the two sheets across the face of the wearer with the window aligned with the wearers eyes, and wicking material having one end thereof spread and secured to the first sheet of material and having its opposite free end also spread and adapted to be associated with a source of liquid.

4. A self-contained automatically cooling face mask comprising a sheet of opaque flexible and liquid-absorbent material, a second sheet of flexible material covering the outer face of the first-named sheet and secured thereto, a transparent window disposed in the sheets, means for positioning the sheets across the face of the wearer with the window aligned with the wearers eyes, a yarn-formed cord of wicking material having the yarns at one end thereof untwisted and arranged in fan-like form over the face of the first-named sheet and secured thereto by stitching, and a flexible container for cooling liquid, the opposite end of the wicking cord having the yarns untwisted and positioned within the liquid container in a fan-like arrangement and attached thereto.

5. A self-contained automatically cooling face mask comprising a sheet of flexible and liquid-absorbent textile material, means for positioning said sheet across the face of the wearer, and a cord of filament yarns of hydrophobic References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 43,679 Fuller Aug. 2, 1864 1,020,724 Stephens Mar. 19, 1912 2,002,673 Mills May 28, 1935 2,010,132 Bischofi Aug. 6, 1935 2,397,232 Barnes et al. Mar. 26, 1946 2,702,460 Gaugler Feb. 22, 1955 2,755,803 Dorsey July 24, 1956 2,769,308 Krasno Nov. 6, 1956 2,861,568 Quilter et a1 Nov. 25, 1958 

